Day: January 29, 2019

 

On 29^th January, FIATA reported a Straits Times story that luxury brands Burberry and Louis Vuitton have failed in their attempt to hold a freight forwarder liable for trans-shipping fakes in 2 40-feet containers through Singapore.   The Court of Appeal drew a line between effective enforcement against fake goods and holding “honest commercial persons” liable who were unaware the goods were fakes.

https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/courts-crime/freight-forwarder-cleared-of-shipping-fakes

A policy statement from the industry organisation is available at –

https://fiata.com/uploads/media/FIATA_Position_Paper_-_Intellectual_Property_Rights_-_September_2010_01.pdf

 

EU Regulation 2019/132/EU has removed Mohamed Marwan Ben Ali Ben Mohamed MABROUK from its Tunisia sanctions list, with effect from 30^th January.

https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=uriserv:OJ.L_.2019.025.01.0012.01.ENG&toc=OJ:L:2019:025:TOC

See also EU Council Decision 2019/135/CFSP

https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/AUTO/?uri=uriserv:OJ.L_.2019.025.01.0012.01.ENG&toc=OJ:L:2019:025:TOC

The index ranks 180 countries and territories by their perceived levels of public sector corruption according to experts and businesspeople, uses a scale of 0 to 100, where 0 is highly corrupt and 100 is very clean.  More than two-thirds of countries score below 50 on this year’s Index, with an average score of just 43.  Denmark in number 1, Panama is 93^rd.

https://www.transparency.org/

On 28^th January, ACFCS published an article with links to the National Strategy for Combatting Terrorist and Other Illicit Financing, National Money Laundering Risk Assessment 2018, National Terrorist Financing Risk Assessment 2018 and National Proliferation Financing Risk Assessment 2018.  Described as 4 recent reports the US government detailing the overarching strategies to counter an array of criminal threats, from narco-traffickers to rogue nation states, healthcare fraudsters to Nigerian princes and princesses, Indian “IRS” agents, to terror financiers and weapons and human traffickers.  The assessments also give a roadmap of issues investigators and regulators are prioritising, weaknesses that no doubt have strings to AML compliance and could take shape as new questions in compliance exams and upcoming regulations.

https://www.acfcs.org/news/435882/In-assessments-strong-AML-program-vital-to-countering-rising-terror-cyber-proliferation-risks.htm